The body of a local politician has been found in Lake Wanaka, after his family raised the alarm when he failed to return from a fly-fishing trip at the Makarora River mouth.

A baby survived a 30m fall from a cable car - which killed her parents - by landing in a tree.

The body of a man found in the Hokianga Harbour will be released to his family for burial as soon as his identity is confirmed.

Family and friends of a Hokianga man missing for a week after going to set his fishing net will resume their search today in the hope Tangaroa, Maori god of the sea, will give up his body.

Police have found a body near the property of Dannevirke man William Kerry Power, who has been missing since Tuesday.

An elderly Katikati woman lost in the bush braved the cold weather and dark conditions for more than three hours while she waited for a search and rescue team to come to her aid.

One of the seven passengers on a vintage yacht missing in heavy seas off New Zealand had a deep-rooted fear of drowning at sea, which he laid bare in an eerie premonition.

An Air Force Orion is searching near Norfolk Island today for missing vintage American schooner Nina.

The sister of the captain of the missing yacht Nina says the worst possible outcome would be for the crew to be lost at sea forever and to never know what happened.

Two men standing on an upturned boat and one man found clinging to the hull were rescued after they set off their distress beacon off the Waikato coast over the weekend.

An adventure company responsible for a rock-climbing expedition during which three people were swept to their deaths has pleaded guilty to failing to ensure their safety.

A hunter has died after falling more than 10m onto rocks from a cable bridge near Hanmer Springs.

A mother and daughter have been winched to safety from a rocky ledge on Wairarapa's remote south coast.

Snoopy is a survivor. The 4-year-old spaniel-cross spent six hours stranded on a Dunedin cliff ledge in the cold and rain yesterday.

Otago Boys' High School rector Clive Rennie is backing the decisions of two teachers who had to be rescued along with 10 pupils from the Rock and Pillar Range on Saturday night.

When Scott Scheele slipped and fell 90 metres down a giant Himalayan cliff-face, triggering a terrifying avalanche, climbing buddy Ben Dare hardly dared to look down.

A Queenstown climber and the injured companion he rescued after a terrifying fall on a Himalayan mountain are hoping to head home this week.

A Queenstown climber involved in a dramatic Himalayan rescue says his injured companion is in a Kathmandu hospital but could be released within days.

An elderly man who survived a night lost in the cold and cuddled up to his dog for warmth was surprised his worried wife called police, saying he didn't want a fuss.

A missing 80-year-old Foxton man is being assessed for possible hypothermia after spending the night huddled in sand dunes with his dog.

A Queenstown climber's heroic actions are being hailed after he saved a climbing companion knocked unconscious by an avalanche high up a Himalayan mountain.

Taranaki rescue helicopter workers have received a top rescue award for saving the lives of 10 people stranded on New Plymouth's Paritutu Rock.

A number of senior management at St John will lose their jobs in a huge shake-up of the under-pressure ambulance service. A new uniform is also planned.